Teaching
Working Group Ethics and Critical Theories of AI
In our working group, we offer seminars and lectures on a wide range of topics.
The focus of our teaching is on a critical examination of AI and the digital society. In our courses, we offer both theoretical foundations and perspectives that touch on topics such as the power structures within the digital, systems of discrimination and the socio-economic contexts of AI.
Our courses are usually held in English and mostly hybrid (combination of online/offline) so that they are also accessible to external participants. If you would like to participate, just send us an email.
Lecture: Introduction to the Ethics of AI (Einführung in die Ethik der KI)
The lecture "Introduction to the Ethics of AI" is repeated every winter semester and is open to the public. The lecture is available in three formats: On-site, live video and video recordings (in English).
The update is currently being prepared.
Details on the current lectures can also be found on the teaching program page.
| Phase | Phase Description | Duration (recommended) |
|---|---|---|
| Finding a topic | First, please determine independently which topic or research question you would like to work on. Conduct some preliminary research to formulate your question, e.g. by determining which literature/philosophy sources you will use and the exact research objectives/questions motivating your project. As a result, please prepare a mini-exposé for the topic(s) you are considering for your paper. | 1 - 3 months |
Meeting 1 Find a topic | Based on your mini-exposé, we will discuss your ideas and make a selection for your topic. You will receive feedback on how to finalize the mini-exposé for the final topic. | |
Topics Finalization | Based on our discussion of your idea(s) and mini-exposé(s), you finalize your research concept. The finalized mini-exposé will serve as a firm plan for your project. | 1 month |
Meeting 2 Finalize topic | You present your final mini-exposé, which represents your project. The mini-exposé now contains a clear research goal/question, a motivation for the goal/question, the corpus of phenomena and literature to be used, and a preliminary table of contents that serves as a work plan. When your mini-exposé is ready, you must also register your work with the examination office before you can proceed. | |
| Writing | Once you have registered, start writing your thesis according to the work plan. Please start with a chapter (usually not the introduction, but one of the earlier and more basic chapters). | 1 month |
Meeting 3 Feedback on a chapter | In some cases, we will offer you a further supervision meeting to discuss your writing ability. This meeting will usually be scheduled once you have completed a first chapter of your work, which you will submit to us before the meeting. We may also use this meeting to reassess your work plan. | |
| Writing | You continue writing your thesis independently. | Remaining time until the deadline |
Meeting 4 Final spurt | When you are 80% done, plan another meeting where you show what you have done. The purpose is to give you final feedback. It makes sense to have this meeting late enough in the writing phase so that you can really present a large part of your work. At the same time, the meeting should be early enough so that you are still able to incorporate feedback and make major changes (if recommended). | |
| Finalizing the work | You finish your work by implementing any feedback from the final meeting. At the end, please also make sure that you proofread and ensure an appropriate layout. Finally, submit your thesis to the examination office and also as a PDF to both of your supervisors. | 2 weeks |
The sessions last around 30 minutes and should be kept to the point. To ensure that you get the
maximum benefit from your supervision sessions, we ask you to follow the
following steps for preparation and debriefing:
| Timing | Task |
|---|---|
| Preparation | Be clear about what exactly you want to discuss in the session, what questions you have and what you want to take away from the meeting. Create a short agenda for the meeting (1-4 discussion points / objectives for the meeting). Send us an email at least 24 hours before the meeting with the agenda, any relevant documents we may need to read (mini-exposé, chapter, draft paper). Please indicate the time slot of the meeting in the subject line of your email. |
| During the meeting | Please start the meeting with a 2-minute presentation that briefly summarizes the state of play and introduces the first item on your agenda. Use the agenda as a structure for the moderation. |
| Follow-up | After the meeting, please summarize all relevant results in a short concise list with bullet points. This list should include any tasks or decisions made. Please email the summary to us within 48 hours of the session. In the event that we see the results of the meeting differently, we will have the opportunity to clarify this with you. Otherwise, the summary will serve as part of the briefing for our next meeting. |
Once you have made sure that you and your project fall within the above framework and meet the requirements, you should start to develop an interesting topic and write a mini-exposé. A mini-exposé is usually 1.5 to 3 pages long and contains the following information:
1. working title of the dissertation
2. statement on the topic. Ideally, your topic statement should contain two pieces of information:
- A description of an empirical phenomenon in the context of AI or digital technology that you intend to address critically or ethically in your thesis (e.g. an app, a service, a company, a business model, a current trend, ...);
- A small body of philosophical references (within one of the philosophical approaches listed above) with which you intend to discuss your phenomenon. Consider these philosophical references as the target discourse of your work, i.e. the discourse to which you intend to make a small contribution, either by applying the theory to the phenomenon or by pointing out the limitations of the theory.
3. description of the topic: 1-2 paragraphs, maximum 0.5 pages. Think of this as a kind of summary. It should state (a) your motivation, (b) the phenomenon or theoretical desideratum you intend to address, (c) the means (philosophical discourses/resources) by which you intend to do so, and (d) the aim of the paper. This can be brief and sketchy, but should give a clear idea. Make sure you describe both a phenomenon (b) and a theoretical context (c). Many students come to us with only a phenomenon in mind, but no idea of the theoretical dimension of their work, or vice versa.
4. structure of the draft: Using numbered headings and subheadings, note the structure of the paper as you envision it. This outline is not necessarily final, as it may change as you work on your thesis. However, the outline also serves as a work plan for the process of researching and writing the thesis.
5. time frame: When do you want to complete your thesis? Do you need a grade by a certain date?
6. a short self-presentation explaining why you have chosen to write a thesis in the field of AI ethics and to what extent you have specialized in this field during your studies. Please also include your name, degree program and matriculation number.
7. bibliography: List the most important references, both in relation to the "phenomenon" you intend to address and to the philosophical literature you will use for this purpose. This bibliography does not have to be exhaustive. It can be a mixture of texts that you already know (and that have given you your idea) and texts that you still want to read. It will help us to get a clearer picture of your philosophical background. So please don't make it so long that we "can't see the wood for the trees". The bibliography is self-contained and you will add to it as you go along.
Use A4 paper
- Insert a title page with your name, your matriculation number, the title of the thesis, the date of the thesis and the two supervisors.
- Enter page numbers and insert a table of contents after the title page.
- Use a font size of 11 or 12 points and a line spacing of 1.15-1.5 (no more).
- Use appropriate margins of 35-40 mm, which can be used for notes and markings.
- Organize your work into meaningful sections and subsections, with numbered headings.
- Use paragraphs. As a rule, a paragraph consists of more than one sentence and is less than one page long.
- Use direct quotations and paraphrases in the literature.
Use the author-year referencing scheme in the text and include a complete
bibliography as the last section of your paper.